


Denouement

by a3rie



Category: Coraline (2009), Coraline - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gen, old ladies are great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 15:39:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6085302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a3rie/pseuds/a3rie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A very short look into the lives of two memorable side-characters.</p><p>Some people take retirement better than others. Some don't mind the idea at all, so long as they have the right place to call home. On the look out for a new place to stay, the Pink Palace presents itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Denouement

“I don't like it,” Miriam replied tartly after giving the small apartment a once over. She adjusted the light purple boa better onto her shoulders and smoothed out her worn blue gown, frowning that the bright fabric now had dust smudges on it from the short tour of the house. “Women of our caliber should not even consider abiding in such filth.”

“I don't know, I quite like the cozy feeling,” the woman's shorter friend coaxed from above her at the top of the stairs. “It's very old, you know. The realtor assured that the masonry dates back over a century.” April enjoyed things from antiquity and knew very well that her friend shared her fondness.

The first woman pursed her lips and looked back into the dimly lit entry way with a new consideration in her gaze. Older things held many secrets, she reasoned, and she felt that she herself was proof of this. Turning her attention back up to April, who's bright pink coat was slightly blinding in the afternoon sun, she replied, “It does have some charm to it, doesn't it?” Often, the busty blonde was easily swayed in opinions before she even realized what was happening. “Just needs some sprucing up here and there. We've dealt with tighter accommodations before... that atrocious trailer back in the sixties, you recall?”

“It was the seventies, dear, but yes,” April answered while holding out her hand to her friend as she laboriously climbed the last two steps. It wouldn't be too many more years before the climb would be too much of a strain on their old limbs. Miriam didn't accept the offered help and brushed past the other woman, heading towards their old, black 1958 Chevy Impala.

“No, it was sixties,” the woman corrected while her hands fumbled into her leather purse for the keys. They had driven up posthaste to inspect the newly advertised vacancy of the Pink Palace after being evicted from their third apparent just the previous morning –was it their fault the neighbors were allergic to dogs?

“Seventies,” the graying red-head sang in a lightly mocking tone. She bumped her hip against the taller female and extracted the car keys from her coat pocket. April smiled cheekily to herself and thought fondly that Miriam had the memory of a goldfish. “I'll be driving, thank you.” The other woman gave an indignant huff but walked around to the other side of the vehicle without open complaint.

Excited barks greeted them from the back seat as the two older ladies climbed in and buckled up. “Quite down, boys,” the taller woman called over her shoulder as she tugged hard on the seat-belt to bring it across her chest. In the seat beside her, April was pulling her evening hat down further onto her head as if it were the helmet of a race-car driver, “Hold onto something, Forcible. Let's blow this popsicle-stand!”

She turned the ignition and revved the engine before even taking it out of gear, enjoying the feel of the hum under her foot. Miriam wasn't phased by her friend's antics and simply sighed with a roll of her eyes. They had grown used to each others eccentricities long ago.

Giving no warning, the car was thrown into reverse and screeched loudly as it was forced into acceleration down the driveway. Dirt and small rocks flew up from either side of the wheels and the driver laughed giddily as she banked a hard turn, bring the car around before speeding off down the road.

 

oOoOoOo

 

The sun was going down on their first day as tenets of the Pink Palace and life, somehow, felt right. April came into the kitchen with her hair wrapped in a dark green towel from her recent shower. Aside from the towel, a dark blue robe seemed to be the only other thing she had on. “The bathroom is nice. I think they run the place off natural gas, I was able to get in a wonderful long shower before it began going chill,” the woman said looking at her roommate seated at the small, round kitchen table.

Miriam shrugged without comment. She had changed into her favorite white nightgown- a relic from when her figure fit it better- and her short white hair was up in multiple little pink rollers. She was sipping at a cup of tea and looking through one of the many small boxes cluttering the table, pulling out little knickknacks and memorabilia. The mover's had kindly taken care of the larger furniture arrangements for them and now all that was left was to unpack their personal items.

“I do believe there's something in this house,” the seated woman said after a while as she pulled out a deck of cards and looked them over. “I can feel it.”

The robed woman nodded somberly then shrugged, “Yes, I got that sensation as well.” Neither female seemed particularly troubled by the topic at hand. “It's very vague though, like it lives on the other side of the house,” April continued, walking over to the table and pulling out the other wooden chair and easing herself into it. She picked up the cards that her friend had just discarded and looked over their faded art. “I can't yet tell if it's malevolent or not.”

The other woman gave a throaty chuckle and waved her hand through the air as if dismissing the idea. “What ever it is, it should well know that it cannot mess with us,” she answered confidently. Holding up a quarts stone pendant from out of the box she examined its glitter under the bare-bulb light above them. “We're out of it's league. Most things feed off ignorance and we've been around long enough not to have to worry about that.”

“Nope,” April agreed with a nod as she accepted the piece of jewelry from the other woman. A thump sounded from somewhere out side interrupting the conversation and causing their army of small dogs– who'd been previously occupied sniffing around their new home– to suddenly forget their investigation and run to the door barking. “Hamish III, Jock Jr.! Angus! Get your muzzles back over here and sit down! Nosy little angels.” Both ladies were a little slow at working their way to standing to go and see what the ruckus was.

Miriam made it to the door first, opening it quickly and peering out into the twilight. There was another noisy clamor before a black cat came staggering into view. The thin creature shook his head and glanced behind him with a look of disapproval, if cats could appear such. “It's nothing more than a wandering feline,” the busty woman informed her roommate. April pushed herself into the doorway and looked up at the animal as well.

The cat looked at them for a moment before giving a meow and bowing its head, going down on its fore-paws as if extending a greeting. The two women giggled and nodded their heads back to return the gesture. “Best go along, we've nothing but dog kibble here,” the shorter woman called up to it. The cat twitched its ears and appeared to nod before scurrying along out of sight. The two friends shared a look before herding their terriers further back into the apartment.

“What an unusually polite pussycat,” April voiced as she unwrapped her hair and turned back to the bathroom to grab a comb.

“Could be a Familiar,” the taller woman said with a conspiratorial tone. “Sometimes, I wonder if things follow us or if we're perhaps unconsciously drawn to them.” She made her way back into the kitchen and looked back over to the boxes on the table. Charms and miscellaneous items covered every spare space. She wondered –if it was more than just an ordinary cat– if it would be in alignment with whatever presence she and her friend sensed within the other parts of the Pink Palace.

April came back into view again, working tangles out of her unruly curls. “I think we have finally found the perfect place to retire,” she said cheerfully as she began digging into the spice-cabinet. One of the first things tended to had been the unpacking of their impressive supply of herbs and tea leaves. Tea sounded like a marvelous idea.

“It's a shame we couldn't have gotten that spacious flat over in Fort Klamath, the one with the hot-tub,” Miriam sighed wishfully as she took her seat once more at the crowded table.

“You're thinking of the flat in Medford,” April answered as she turned on the stove eye and placed an ancient looking brass kettle of water over it.

“Medford had the dinky little single-story and that horrid rusty metal fence. The place I am talking about most certainly is in Fort Klamath,” came the self assured counter.

“Medford,” this time her voice was slightly sing-song. She took down a square, clay cup to put her tea into and smiled at the start of their familiar banter. She was well prepared to argue, they had all night.

“Fort Klamath!” They had all of retirement, actually.

 

oOoOoOo

 

The cat watched from a narrow window that sat close to the ground as the two ladies fussed back and forth with one another. They seemed like a lively duo and he looked forward to seeing more from them in the future. They would provide an excellent distraction from his unpleasant task. He could sense the evil lurking in the depths of the building and tonight he would find a way to get to it.

Before turning away from the domestic scene below him, his blue eyes caught sight of the top card on the deck that one of the women had been idly shuffling. The grinning face of Death leered up from the intricate painting and the cat gave an involuntary shiver. 'Now that's an ill omen if ever there was one,' he thought to himself snidely. He gave a flick of one tattered ear before slinking away from the window.

Omens or not, he had work to do.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I've always loved these two. You never see much of them in fanworks so I wanted to give a little story just for them.  
> This work can be read as taking place within the world of my other story Now Comes the Hour but it isn't necessarily a prequel. If one does choose to see the two stories as taking place in the same universe don't squint too hard at the time-line, haha.


End file.
